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B&H not shipping chemicals anymore?

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faberryman said:
Let the bickering with customers begin.
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Was my first impression, too.

This is why you leave the public relating to public relations professionals and spokespersons.
 
paul ron said:
why bother arguing? just find other sources. --snip-- they dont want my business so ive moved on.
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Right there with you Paul...I've removed all the addresses and credit cards associated with my B&H account (and will delete it if I can figure out how). I've got an order in my cart with Freestyle right now - just holding off before I order to make sure there's nothing else I need.

I can buy lenses, film, etc., from B&H but why? They don't want my business - more money in plastic Apple Watch bands I suppose. Oh well.
 
I'm from Canada and sometimes order from Argentix and sometimes from Freestyle. Getting ORM-D across the border isn't a huge problem if you don't mind paying for the service, I got one of the customs/logistics brokers to do the paperwork and that stuff for me. Cost me $150 on a $1200 order but at least I could get the chemistry I wanted.
 
henryp said:
"New?" ValuJet 592 crashed on May 11, 1996. The new regs started not long thereafter. if that's "new," I guess I'm still a teenager. :smile:
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Please advise us what governmental regulation became effective on November 22, 2016 which now prevents you from shipping all the photographic chemicals you routinely shipped for decades before November 22, 2016.
 
henryp said:
"New?" ValuJet 592 crashed on May 11, 1996. The new regs started not long thereafter. if that's "new," I guess I'm still a teenager. :smile:
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Maybe that's the reason! I'm not a teenager and I understood him to be talking about your new policy, store pickup only. :errm:
 
APUGuser19 said:
I'm all for leaning off the company.
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I've already started leaning off. I told the entire family no more B&H gift cards for Christmas, birthdays, etc. I told them to go to Freestyle instead. I shoot film for B&W, but use a Nikon D800 (digital) for color. My local camera shop sells Nikon equipment for the same price as B&H, so the local guy is getting all of that business. I had to cut B&H off on my inkjet paper a long time ago because they simple wouldn't package it well enough to get it to me with all 4 corners intact. I'll try Adorama for anything that Freestyle doesn't have and my local guy doesn't have or can't order. I'll only go to B&H when I have no other option.
 
APUGuser19 said:
I just had a brilliant idea, like duh... why don't I just block the whole thread. I don't come here to this site for this kind of thing. If it were any other website, I'd say George Soros was behind this thread. There's 9 pages of this stuff in 1 week. Very familiar pattern.
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Any time a product or supplier goes away, there are long threads on APUG where users are coming to terms with the changes. This happened when Kodak declared bankruptcy, and happened when Fuji stopped making a lot of their films, and is happening now because of B&H's store policy. I am calling it a store policy because it seems to only be their problem - other shops, even one just a few blocks away from them on Manhattan Island, are doing business as usual.

George Soros has nothing to do with it.

henryp said:
"New?" ValuJet 592 crashed on May 11, 1996. The new regs started not long thereafter. if that's "new," I guess I'm still a teenager. :smile:
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What you have yet to explain, not that it matters, is how the crash in 1996 has anything to do with a policy that changed just before Thanksgiving. People were able to buy D-76 for shipment last week, this week they're not. Again, it doesn't matter because people that it affects have already placed orders with your competitors - but what new rule made it impossible for you to ship D-76 on a UPS truck this week when it was possible last week?
 
We won't learn the reason. We will only hear that it was the twenty year old plane crash and that we've not been able to mail order chemistry since then. Lies repeated enough times are now actually facts, so move along. B&H hasn't shipped chemistry since 1996. These are not the droids you are looking for.
 
henryp said:
"New?" ValuJet 592 crashed on May 11, 1996. The new regs started not long thereafter. if that's "new," I guess I'm still a teenager. :smile:
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Really? Do you expect us to believe you haven't sent us thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of chemistry since 1996, and indeed until last week? Do you really think we are that gullible? Do you not see with your own eyes the shipping label I posted from last week from you shipped by UPS GROUND?
 
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sepiareverb said:
We won't learn the reason. We will only hear that it was the twenty year old plane crash and that we've not been able to mail order chemistry since then. Lies repeated enough times are now actually facts, so move along. B&H hasn't shipped chemistry since 1996. These are not the droids you are looking for.
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I just want to hear Henry come out and say they don't want to serve darkroom customers anymore. They're not making enough money selling D-76 for $6.50 with free shipping. Ilford liquid concentrate rapid fixer is heavy and there isn't enough margin to sell with free shipping. Those are certainly good enough reasons - but to say it's due to some unknown regulations from a plane crash in 1996, regulations that only came into effect for this one store last week is a load of marlarkey.
 
I have never seen the store, its people or HenryP in person, nor ever likely to but I now cannot get an image out of my head of Lloyd Bridges in "Airplane", saying "I've picked a fine week to give up shipping chemicals!" :D

pentaxuser
 
Just FYI, I realized the other day I needed some more fixer. I priced it from freestyle but shipping is way to much to the east coast. Just out of curiousity today I checked B&H and ilford hypam is available for shipping. I quickly added enough HP5 to make shipping free and placed my order. Hopefully B&H is working to fix this problem!
 
Since, in the immortal words of B&H's management spokesperson henryp: "We don't overlook anything" (emphasis his), the governmental regulations must have changed again since 11/22/16, and they are now once again able to ship Ilford Hypam and Rapid Fixer. I urge everyone who needs fixer to order it quickly before the governmental regulations change again.
 
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I was somewhat shocked to read this thread, as I received gallon-sized packages of Dektol and Kodak Fixer on the 9th of November -- and yes, it came via UPS ground. Stuff generally arrives on the second day here in the Philadelphia 'burbs. I've been doing business with B&H for ten years or more, not just film and chemicals, but digital "devices" including an iPad, an Asus tablet for my wife, carrying cases, external hard drives, etc. In general their prices are good, if not always the absolute cheapest, and I can't recall ever having a error in an order, they seem to be a thoroughly efficient organization. Their website is one of the best I know of for navigating, finding specs, and putting together an order.

I occasionally buy from Freestyle -- my last bottle of HC110 came from there, as it's been on the B&H no-ship list for a while, but being on the opposite coast, deliveries take a lot longer, and generally cost more. I would like to see both (and a few more) companies stay healthy, and I do wish B&H would free up the chemicals. And no, though I could, I'm not about to kill the better part of a day and a bunch of money to travel to NYC for pickup!
 
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DWThomas said:
I was somewhat shocked to read this thread, as I received gallon-sized packages of Dektol and Kodak Fixer on the 9th of November -- and yes, it came via UPS ground. ...
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According to their website, B&H offers "expedited shipping"; 1 to 3 days depending on where in the continental US they're shipping to. My shipments (Minnesota) have always come by air. But I'm sure any shipment to NE is via ground. The decision to ship ground vs. air for these "expedited" shipments is probably made by UPS as they are likely committing to delivery times.
 
mgb74 said:
According to their website, B&H offers "expedited shipping"; 1 to 3 days depending on where in the continental US they're shipping to. My shipments (Minnesota) have always come by air. But I'm sure any shipment to NE is via ground. The decision to ship ground vs. air for these "expedited" shipments is probably made by UPS as they are likely committing to delivery times.
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They could just as easily state on their website, as Freestyle does, that restricted materials can only be shipped via Ground. If you add a bottle of Rodinal to your Freestyle cart, you'll only be able to pick Ground shipping. D-76 can be shipped overnight air from Freestyle...if you're willing to pay for it!

No reason B&H can't implement this if they cared enough to do so.

As I said earlier, there's more money in selling $50 plastic watch bands than there is in $7 pouches of D-76. I don't fault B&H for striving to maximize profit - that is the reason for a business to exist. I fault them for not being honest with the reason why they are no longer selling many forms of chemistry for shipment.

As others have mentioned, the number of SKUs re-enabled for shipping have expanded over the past few days, but a lot of chemistry like D-76 are still restricted to in-store pickup only for no real reason that we've been told so far by Henry.
 
This is sort of disappointing beyond words and comprehension....In the days of a Trump America, I guess I just shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore. Hopefully D-76 survives after a steep drop in sales, for those of us who are able to go to local places to still get it.
 
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